Gold prices rose on Thursday as the US dollar weakened against the euro. Silver prices were also up as metal prices shrugged off a week-long slump amid positive jobs reports. Investors feel this good news could signal a move by the Fed to end quantitative easing sooner rather than later.
By Joe Deaux
10/11/12 - 10:26 AM EDT
The Street
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Gold prices were rising Thursday as the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro.
Gold for December delivery was adding $3.70 to $1,7688.80 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price traded as high as $1,776.60 and as low as $1,760.20 an ounce, while the spot price was gaining $3.90, according to Kitco's gold index.
Standard & Poor's knocked down Spain's debt rating by two notches late Wednesday, but the euro was ignoring that news and investors continued to be optimistic about the possibility of a bailout for the country.
"The S&P announcement on Spain probably has a lot to do with the return to the rally tracks," Chuck Butler, president of world markets at EverBank, wrote Thursday in a note.
Silver prices for December delivery was up 2 cents at $34.13 an ounce, while the U.S. dollar index was lowering 0.39% to $79.79.
Gold was also shrugging off a week-long slump despite the better news that weekly jobless claims declined 30,000 for their biggest drop since July.
Investors have felt that good news in the labor market could signal a move by the Federal Reserve to end its open-ended, mortgage-backed securities purchasing program -- known as quantitative easing -- sooner rather than later. Despite last Friday's surprise drop in the unemployment rate and Thursday's decline in claims, gold is not seeing a charge toward the lower end of its current trading range.
"As discussed recently, I was cautious to short term bearish on gold based on overbought sentiment mainly. If it can hold 1753, it has a chance to spring back over 1800," David Banister, chief investment strategist at Active Trading Partners, wrote in an email.
The euro was climbing to $1.2939 against the greenback, ahead of its prior day close at $1.2876.
Gold mining stocks were mostly higher Thursday. Shares of NovaGold Resources (NG) were up 2.2%, while shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) were adding 1.9%.
Among other mining stocks, Kinross Gold (KGC) was rising 0.86%, and Barrick Gold (ABX) was up 0.17%.
Gold ETFs SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) each were increasing 0.47%.
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